Varner, Tom - Nine Surprises

$5.00

Tom Varner continues to develop as a composer. He now lives in the Seattle area and this is his second CD featuring a bevy of truly remarkable Seattle musicians. So first, I give you the musicians:Tom Varner, french horn and composerThomas Marriott, trumpetDavid Marriott, tromboneSteve Tresler, clarinetMark Taylor, absolutely killer alto saxEric Barber, tenor saxJim Dejoie, baritone saxPhil Sparks, bassByron Vannoy, drums.Nine Surprises is the name of a fifteen section composition that makes up most of the CD. The last three pieces are stand alone compositions.Several of the pieces are brief interludes for Byron Vannoy or for Phil Sparks to shine. These interludes are quiet and draw you into listening more closely. There are others for Mark Taylor or Eric Barber to quickly display their prowess on their horn. They serve to set off and to separate the longer pieces, Main Theme, Seattle Blues, Low Guys, Mali King County and Reprise and Finale. These compositions are just extraordinary. Seattle Blues sounds as good as early Mingus, equally driven by the soli and by the ensemble section. Contrapuntal weaving, rich harmonies and swing, swing, swing. I love this piece. Mali King County is named, I believe, after the African country and the county that contains Seattle. It kicks off with Byron on the drums, then Phil on the bass and the horns start to dig in after about a minute with Mr. Varner conversing with the rest of the horns.That last remark gets to something I like about the way Mr. Varner writes- so many of his compositions sound like conversations with the different musicians/sections exchanging ideas and getting excited about what is happening. This is especially evident in Mali King County which has a celebratory quality.As for the final composition, I grace you with Mr. Varner's own description, "...a Gil Evans-influenced variation on the harmonic structure of a pop Hawaiian Christmas song, made popular by Bing Crosby. A version of the song by Cyril Pahinui on slack key guitar inspired me..." Seriously, if that doesn't excite your interest, I don't know what to do with you.Finally, let me note that this is the first recording on Tom Varner's own label. We should always support an artist taking control of their own business. As usual, Tom Varner has my highest recommendation.

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Tom Varner continues to develop as a composer. He now lives in the Seattle area and this is his second CD featuring a bevy of truly remarkable Seattle musicians. So first, I give you the musicians:Tom Varner, french horn and composerThomas Marriott, trumpetDavid Marriott, tromboneSteve Tresler, clarinetMark Taylor, absolutely killer alto saxEric Barber, tenor saxJim Dejoie, baritone saxPhil Sparks, bassByron Vannoy, drums.Nine Surprises is the name of a fifteen section composition that makes up most of the CD. The last three pieces are stand alone compositions.Several of the pieces are brief interludes for Byron Vannoy or for Phil Sparks to shine. These interludes are quiet and draw you into listening more closely. There are others for Mark Taylor or Eric Barber to quickly display their prowess on their horn. They serve to set off and to separate the longer pieces, Main Theme, Seattle Blues, Low Guys, Mali King County and Reprise and Finale. These compositions are just extraordinary. Seattle Blues sounds as good as early Mingus, equally driven by the soli and by the ensemble section. Contrapuntal weaving, rich harmonies and swing, swing, swing. I love this piece. Mali King County is named, I believe, after the African country and the county that contains Seattle. It kicks off with Byron on the drums, then Phil on the bass and the horns start to dig in after about a minute with Mr. Varner conversing with the rest of the horns.That last remark gets to something I like about the way Mr. Varner writes- so many of his compositions sound like conversations with the different musicians/sections exchanging ideas and getting excited about what is happening. This is especially evident in Mali King County which has a celebratory quality.As for the final composition, I grace you with Mr. Varner's own description, "...a Gil Evans-influenced variation on the harmonic structure of a pop Hawaiian Christmas song, made popular by Bing Crosby. A version of the song by Cyril Pahinui on slack key guitar inspired me..." Seriously, if that doesn't excite your interest, I don't know what to do with you.Finally, let me note that this is the first recording on Tom Varner's own label. We should always support an artist taking control of their own business. As usual, Tom Varner has my highest recommendation.